I have said before that plasmas are often considered an art more than a science. This is true in industry where plasmas are developed to do many exotic things and then locked in copy exact mode to perform the same feat forever. It is why plasma measurement is usually referred to as plasma diagnostics rather …
Tag: Popular science
A Carrington event is a massive plasma solar flare – a ring of fire
NASA Goddard PhotoSolar flares Solar flares continually erupt from the surface of the sun. These powerful surges of plasma can reach the earths magnetic field. The number of flares and sunspots fluctuate each year reaching a maximum every approximate eleven years. The Sun was due to reach a solar maximum in its 11 year cycle in 2011 …
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Plasma Propulsion Drive Using Helicon Injector – Warp 5 Scotty
Helicon plasma devices Helicon plasma devices are capable of producing high density plasma with close to fully ionised species. This paper presents a radically new class of plasma propulsion thrusters that has the advanced capabilities necessary to perform missions previously unfeasible. This light-weight propulsion system called HIIPER (Helicon Injected Inertial Plasma Electrostatic Rocket) employs one …
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Carrington event which is a massive plasma flare from the sun could hit the earth in the next decade
Startling paper by Pete Riley on the possibility of massive solar flare, or Carrington event happening- Key Points Probability of a Carrington event occurring over next decade is ~12% Space physics datasets often display a power-law distribution Power-law distribution can be exploited to predict extreme events Pete Riley Predictive Science,San Diego,California,USA This …
Arc Direct!! Now lightning can strike twice in the same place
Arc Direct!! Now lightning can strike twice in the same place. Lasers have been used for the first time to trigger and divert lightning bolts. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328584.200-lightning-directed-by-laser-beams.html
Not even wrong, Fusion Energy at Lawrenceville Plasma Physics
When I was a postgraduate student I published my first scientific paper. I was very worried that the paper would be inaccurate. I spent several months reviewing the content before I finally submitted the work for publication. My supervisor reassured me by saying that there are three types of scientific publications: The ones that are …
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Warm matter
In this interesting article for me the authors talk about creating warm matter. This is a plasma really. But most of the universe is in the form of plasma. The authors call it Warm Matter. I had not heard this term before. Warm matter is not some thing we see much on earth. A volcano spews …
Mike B Hopkins 